I assume that this tree has some particular botanical quirks, apart from the obvious aesthetic qualities reflected in this image, giving it its starring role.Nonetheless it deserves its place on aesthetics alone.Well done!

Thanks, everyone!Botanical quirks, Tony: some of these small trees have recently been found to be several hundred years old, providing a new source of tree ring data with which to study climate change. Further, the tree is beside Crawford Lake, a deep, sheltered pond with undisturbed sediments containing layers of pollen (forest, corn, weeds) and charcoal that reveal cycles of native North American agriculture.